Dave Sims, SHUT UP already. Please?
It's an unwritten rule in baseball fandom everywhere that when a pitcher is in the midst of throwing a no-hitter, you're not supposed to mention it lest you jinx him. Sure enough, when I got home and turned on the TV broadcast of the game, around the 5th inning, it seems as if Dave Sims couldn't talk about Boston's lack of hits off of Felix enough! It kept going, and going, and I scared my son when I finally got so fed up that I yelled at my TV: "SHUT UUUUUUUP!!!!" (I explained to him that I was yelling at the TV, and not at him).
Now, I can't find anything on the origin of this custom, or when it came about. It seems to me, too, that the opposing team's broadcasters always mention it on purpose to try and jinx the pitcher on the other team throwing the no-hitter.
Whether or not there's any scientific/tangible proof of no-hitters being jinxed by people mentioning it, it's still a tradition that needs to be respected. I don't care how many Emmy awards Mr. Sims has won. Ya don't break that tradition.
(Dave Sims brags about Dave Niehaus at Mariners FanFest 2007)
Dare I break out the "Free Dave Henderson!" campaign? Don't make me do it.
Thanks.
Labels: bad broadcasting, Dave Sims, jinx, no-hitters
posted by PositivePaul @ 11:19 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
It's ok for everyone, but his teammates to say that he is pitching a no-hitter. It's ok for the broadcaster. The announcer didn't jinks it only his teammates could of.
Don't be an idiot--that's his job. Whenever there's a no-hitter going, Niehaus and Rizzs mention it, too.
The unwritten rule is for fans and teammates, not broadcasters.
It's gotta be said, Niehaus and Rizzs mentioned the phrase 'no hitter' a couple of times on the radio while Sims was on TV.
You could tell that Dave didn't want to do it; he kept referring to the fact that 'things were getting interesting' - and then broke down and mentioned that Felix had not allowed a hit; a sop to the baseball newbies, I guess. Anyway, it's gotta be damn tough for the broadcasters not to mention it. I can't remember if they did for the last M's no-hitter (I listened to the 9th from a Taco-Bell drive-thru), but i'm pretty sure they said the taboo phrase at least once.
I'll forgive Sims this one transgression... I've been fairly impressed so far, excepting his perfomance in pronounicng 'Uwajimaya.' Is it *really* that hard?
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